Tag Archives: news

I am absolutely fascinated by this debate. The very idea that news organizations and celebrities have joined this trending conversation, emphatically claiming that the garment in question is either blue or black or gold or white (or any other combination of colors) is a little disappointing on the surface. Do we not have more important things to talk about?
Then, you slowly find yourself getting drawn into the discussion. Sure, it looks white and gold— even Anna Kendrick says so. But there are photos floating around that PROVE it is black and blue. And then some crazy person on Reddit swears it’s fuchsia. Before you know it, you have wasted hours asking all of your friends what color they see and reposting your emphatic opinion that it HAS to be white and gold or the universe doesn’t make sense.
So now, I hope you will forgive me, but I have to be THAT person who insists that there is something more to this debate than the color of a dress.
It reminds me of another trending story regarding Tammy Meyers, a 44-year-old mother who was shot and killed in her driveway on February 12.
When the case was originally reported, Tammy was said to have been gunned down as the result of an incident that occurred on the road. Early on, we were led to believe that the gunman followed Tammy home and, in a fit of extreme road rage, shot her in her driveway.
My news feed began to fill with people debating road rage and how scary the thought is that someone you flip off at an intersection might snap and follow you to your home— a complete stranger might actually take your life because you expressed frustration at their choices behind the wheel. People I knew who talked about the story would say things like, “This is why I need a concealed carry permit.”
Then, new details started to emerge. Reporters began saying that Tammy actually knew the victim. Now there are rumors about a prescription drug deal gone bad, and the details of what happened to Tammy and her family that day continue to get more convoluted as they are passed around the internet like a hot potato. But there are still people who say this story is about road rage– even though evidence has emerged to the contrary. Suddenly we are all involved in a situation that, if we are being honest, is none of our business. We share Facebook updates and retweet things without checking the facts. It’s kind of scary when you think about it.
And, I’m sure at this point you are wondering what this has to do exactly with the now famous Tumblr dress.
Here’s the thing: the internet is a wonderful place to connect with people. We interact and learn from one another every day— but there is a dark side. And the very fabric of that dark side is in the gold and white (black and blue) dress that you have spent hours trying to decode. The point may not actually be that the dress is one group of colors but that it has the potential to LOOK like something else from another point of view— and that the only people that know the true colors of the dress are those who have actually seen it in person—not some potentially doctored image on a computer screen. A Huffington Post’s writer’s firm belief that the dress is blue and black should not change what you see. Anna Kendrick’s emphatic statement that the dress has to be white and gold should not sway you either. Remember the old adage about opinions? Everyone has one— and until we actually know the truth, a difference in opinion doesn’t make someone wrong. An inability to discuss or accept that difference like adults, however, is something else entirely.
And, here’s the more likely scenario— perhaps the point was to get more followers on a Tumblr or Facebook page. Either way, I think it is fair to say that some of us are missing the bigger picture.
Finally, I’m not going to weigh in on either side of this debate. I haven’t seen the dress in person, but I’m sure we will all see it on Good Morning America (or some other equally popular newscast) soon because they will have to weigh in on its deceptive color scheme. It’s segment will be right between someone calling Obama a terrorist and the latest report on Bobbi Kristina Brown’s health.
In the meantime, I have to admit that watching people swear what they see is right and everyone else is “ignorant” or “blind” is honestly kind of breaking my little hippie heart. However, in some sad way, I am used to it— and I don’t think it is going to stop any time soon.